IK 

. J/&7 

i 


LETTERS 

ADDRESSED BY THE 

Civil-Service Reform Association 

OF NEW YORK 

TO THE VARIOUS CANDIDATES FOR 

THE GOVERNORSHIP, AND FOR CONGRESS, 
THE ASSEMBLY, AND CITY OFFICES, 




During the Campaign of 1882, with replies to the same . 


jKbl4- 

\8S“2- 


* 




PRESS OF 

WILLIAM S. GOTTSBERGER. 
I i Murray St., New York. 


INTRODUCTION. 


The following inquiries addressed to, and answers re¬ 
ceived from, candidates for various offices at the late election are 
printed with the view both of putting the pledges of the success¬ 
ful on record, and of showing the extent to which the reform has 
gained ground in the minds of politicians within a very brief 
period. They will doubtless, too, have their use hereafter, when 
some of the defeated again run for office, as many of them of 
course are likely to do. 

The answers from the successful candidates are printed in 
leaded type. 







ROOMS OF THE 


CIVIL-SERVICE REFORM ASSOCIATION. 


GEORGE WILLIAM CURTIS, President. 


BENJ. 

HOWAL„ * v.* . w«, 
ROSWELL D. HITCHCOCK, 
OSWALD OTTENDORFER, 
GKO. B. McCLELLAN, 

JOHN JAY, 

ROBT. B. MINTURN, 
GEORGE B. BUTLER. 



4 PINE STREET. 


■ Vice-Presidents. 


New York, October 20, 1882. 


Sir: 

We have the honor, in behalf of the Civil-Service Reform 
Association of New York, to ask your views of the Reform of the Civil 
Service, which both political parties have repeatedly declared should be 
thorough and complete; and, in particular, we inquire for the information 
of the constituency whose suffrages are now appealed to, how far, if 
elected Governor of New York, you are prepared to use the legitimate 
influence of the Executive office to procure the legislation which is re¬ 
quired to carry these pledges into effect without delay and in a most 
efficient manner. 

Among the most important results to be attained by such legis¬ 
lation are : 

1. The independence it will secure to the President, Senators, 
Congressmen, and Executive Officers from the importunities, seriously ob¬ 
structive to the public business, of a class of office-seekers of whom Mr. 
ex-Secretary Windom said, “ that the claim of five-sixths of those apply¬ 
ing for place in the Treasury rested on no better basis than their inability 
to support themselves.” 


2. Greater fidelity and efficiency in the public service, with 


larger intelligence, higher character, and more devotion on the part of 
employees, due to the awakening of an honorable ambition and the 
development of self-respect. 



4 


3. Economy in the cost of the Public Service. While Gov¬ 
ernor Cornell and Mayor Grace of New York estimate the saving at 
one-third, President Garfield held that “ with a judicious system of Civil 
Service, the business of the departments could be better done at almost 
one-half the cost.” 

4. Increased strength and dignity to the Government in free¬ 
ing it from patronage, nepotism, and favoritism, with the scandals and 
public indignation which follow in their train; especially when it is 
believed that the National or State patronage has been used to reward 
personal services or to revenge private griefs, to influence the action of 
caucuses, to force nominations upon conventions, to impair the freedom 
of popular elections, to corrupt the integrity of legislators, or to change 
the course of legislation. 

5. An honorable stimulus to individual improvement from the 
opening of the Civil Service to fair competition, free from partisan influ¬ 
ence and personal favor. The effect of this change upon popular 
education is shown by the remark of Sir Charles Trevelyan, that “ in 
England the opening of the Civil and Military Service, in its influence 
upon National education, was equivalent to an hundred thousand scholar¬ 
ships and exhibitions of the most valuable kind.” 

Citing these points simply as illustrating our view of the results 
to be anticipated from a wise reform of our Civil Service, we respectfully 
ask whether you would approve of the adoption by Congress of the 
Senate bill, or some similar .act, to make the Merit System, with com¬ 
petition and probation, general and permanent in the Civil Service of 
the Nation, and especially whether you would be prepared to recommend 
to the Legislature a similar reform in the Civil Service of the State. 

Second. Another measure deemed essential to the purity of 
the Civil Service, and on which Congress has already acted in part, is 
the prevention by law of all attempts to create a partisan election fund 
by the assessment of a percentage on the salaries of National office¬ 
holders, numbering more than one hundred thousand. 

The New York State Republican Convention of 1877 said: 
“No official or office-holder should be subject to political or partisan 
assessments, and plain laws should forbid and punish all attempts to 
make or enforce such assessments.” And the late Democratic Convention 


5 


at Syracuse declared “ the necessity of forbidding by penal enactments 
the levying of blackmail upon dependent office-holders.” 

We respectfully ask, Sir, whether you hold that political agents 
who can influence removals and appointments are justified in demanding 
or requesting from the public servants the payment to them, under the 
name of voluntary contributions, of assessments of specific amounts, or 
otherwise, for the benefit of a party or of its managers. 

Should you approve of political assessments on official sal¬ 
aries in any form, will you oblige- us with a clear statement of your 
views on this point. Should you condemn them, will you advise us what 
legislation, if any, you would be disposed to recommend to the Legisla¬ 
ture for the protection of the public servants in all branches of the Civil 
Service under the laws of New York, against the claim of political agents 
to take a part of the salaries paid from the public treasury and appro¬ 
priate it to the purposes of one party in its contest with another. 

Third. In addition to the general evils to the community at 
large flowing from appointments by the Spoils System, your attention 
is respectfully called also to the maltreatment, cruelty, and wrong to 
which children, paupers, the sick, the disabled, the insane, and criminals 
are subjected through the ignorance, inefficiency, or worse defects of 
officials and employees, who have been appointed not from their fitness 
for the work, but without regard to their fitness, by political favor, and 
to serve the purposes of party. Vicious management resulting from such 
appointments is reported in schools, asylums, and institutions of charity 
and correction existing under State authority, and sustained or assisted 
from the public treasury. The testimony on this subject in the State of 
New York is briefly alluded to in the Report of the National Civil-Service 
Reform League herewith transmitted to you (pages 22-25). 

Believing that the State cannot avoid responsibility for such 
abuses in institutions over which it has control, we respectfully ask if you 
are prepared to recommend to the Legislature such judicious legislation 
as will secure to the inmates of our schools, asylums, and all other in¬ 
stitutions of charity and correction, authorized or assisted by the State, 
the protection of managers and employees carefully selected for their 
character, capacity, training, and fitness, without regard to their: political 
opinions* 


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Fourth. The construction of an additional aqueduct, a matter 
of vital importance to the health and prosperity of New York City, has 
been postponed indefinitely, mainly because politicians could not agree as 
to who should control the patronage incidental to such a work. Will you 
favor such legislation as shall provide for the construction of such an aque¬ 
duct by competent persons, without reference to their party affiliations ? 

Fifth. Many of the “Primaries ” in the State totally misrep¬ 
resent the party which they pretend to represent, and their proceedings 
are marked by fraud, intimidation, and violence toward the honest 
members of their party. 

The late Republican Convention at Saratoga said that “ Strin¬ 
gent legislation should be enacted to secure the purity and honesty of 
primary elections, and that all possible safeguards should be thrown 
about these sources of the political action" of the people.” 

The Democratic Convention at. Syracuse said: “We therefore 
favor the speedy passage of general laws providing against fraud and 
intimidation at such elections.” 

We respectfully ask, sir, if you concur in these views, and if you 
are prepared to urge upon the Legislature the prompt enactment of such 
laws. Chapter 154 of the Laws of 1882 which regulates primary elec¬ 
tions is only applicable to Kings County. Would you recommend an 
amendment making it applicable to the entire State ? 

We transmit with this letter a series of our publications, from 
which you may gather more fully our views and motives in addressing you. 

And we beg leave to add that if, in replying to our enquiries, 
which are made with entire respect, you shall favor us with any advice 
based upon your official experience, that may hasten the enactment and 
increase the efficiency of Reform measures, your suggestions will be 
gratefully received and carefully considered. 

We have the honor to be, Sir, with great respect, 

Your most obedient servants, 

George William Curtis, 

John Jay, 

Everett P. 

William Potts. 


Wheeler, 


} Committee. 




7 


Buffalo, New York, Oct 28th, 1882. 
Hon. George William Curtis and others, Committee , etc.. 

Gentlemen :— 

In answer to your letter of inquiry, dated Oct. 20, 1882, in 
relation to Civil-Service Reform, I beg to refer you to my recent letter 
accepting the nomination for Governor, in which many of the matters 
referred to in your letter are touched upon; and I assure you that the 
sentiments therein expressed are sincerely and honestly entertained, and 
are stated without any mental reservation. 

I have no hesitation in saying that I fully approve of the prin¬ 
ciples embodied in the Pendleton Bill relating to this subject, and that I 
should be glad to aid in any practical legislation which would give them 
a place in the management of the affairs of the State and of municipali¬ 
ties, so far as they can be made applicable thereto. 

I believe that the interests of the People demand that a reform 
in the National and State Administrative service should speedily become 
an accomplished fact, and that the Public should receive honest and 
faithful service at the hands of well-fitted and competent servants. 

When contests between parties are waged for the purpose of 
securing places for professional politicians of high or low degree, whose 
only recommendation for appointment is their supposed ability to do 
partisan service, the People are apt to be defrauded by the displacement 
of tried and faithful servants, well able to perform the duties for which 
they are paid with the People’s money, and the substitution of those 
who are unfit and incompetent. In this way the interests of the party 
may be subserved, but the interests of the People are neglected and 
betrayed. 

This pernicious system gives rise to an office-holding class who, 
in their partisan zeal, based upon the hope of personal advantage, arro¬ 
gate to themselves an undue and mischievous interference with the will 
of the people in political action ; this breeds the use of dishonest and 
reprehensible methods, which frequently results in the servants of the 
people dictating to their masters. 

. If places in the public service are worth seeking, they should 


8 


be the reward of merit and well doing, and the opportunity to secure 
them on that basis should be open to all. Those holding these places 
should be assured that their tenure depends upon their efficiency and 
fidelity to their trusts, and they should not be allowed to use them for 
partisan purposes. The money they earn they should receive and be 
allowed to retain, and no part of it should be exacted from them by way 
of political assessments. 

It seems to me that very much or all of what we desire in the 
direction of Civil-Service Reform is included in the doctrine that the 
concerns of the State and Nation should be conducted on business 
principles, and as nearly as possible in the same manner that a prudent 
citizen conducts his private affairs. 

If this principle is kept constantly in mind, I believe the details 
of a plan by which its adoption may be secured will, without much 
difficulty, be suggested. 

You refer especially to mismanagement in schools, asylums, 
and institutions of charity and correction, and to the difficulty in securing 
the construction of an additional aqueduct in the City of New York. 
Without being fully acquainted in detail with the evils and obstacles sur¬ 
rounding these subjects, I believe they may be remedied and removed by 
a due regard to the dictates of humanity and decency, and the applica¬ 
tion of the principles to which I have alluded. 

Yours very respectfully, 

GROVER CLEVELAND. 


Washington, D. C., Oct. 26th, 1882. 

To the Hon. George Willia?n Curtis , Benja?nin H. Bristow , and others. 

Sirs :— 

I have the honor of acknowledging the receipt of your letter 
of October 20th, 1882, which I have seen for the first time this day. 

In answer thereto, I respectfully say that I have substantially 
anticipated a reply to it in my letter of acceptance of the nomination of 
the Saratoga Republican Convention, parts of which I ask leave to affix 
hereto. 

1 st. Having however no reluctance to be more explicit, if it is 


9 


desired, I go further and say that, in any public capacity in which I may 
be placed, I will use the legitimate influence that I have thereby, to 
further legislation desirable for the improvement of the Public Civil 
Service and well devised therefor; and to that end will call the attention 
to the matter of any body which I have the right to address upon such 
a subject. 

2nd. I have already in an official capacity, more than once, in 
communication with my subordinates, declared that they need not feel 
forced to give for party purposes, and have promised them immunity if 
they refuse ; and have declined sanction of a tour of visitation of request 
for contribution. I think my subordinates believe what I said, and have 
acted, by reason of that belief, according to their inclinations. I am of 
the same opinion and purpose still. 

3rd. I am able to appeal to acts in reply to your third inquiry. 
When the Willard Asylum at Ovid was established, I was so placed as 
to be largely instrumental in the foundation of it; after that, I was so 
placed for some years as to have a potential voice in its conduct, I 
always insisted and prevailed, sometimes against opposition, in having 
the Board of Trustees equally divided between the main political parties, 
and with the purpose of excluding favoritism in the choice of agents in 
its immediate practical management, and private interest in the award 
of its business contracts. 

Having seen no reason to regret this course of action, I see 
no reason to adopt a different one if ever I am placed where I shall 
have to take action. 

4th. The matter of a public acqueduct for New York City is 
but a particular of the last general subject. There is nothing in it to 
distinguish it in the choice of mode of treatment. 

5th. The matter of primary elections is not new either to my 
mind or my action. I took part in the first legislation upon that subject, 
and have spoken as fully as I need in the letter of acceptance above 
referred to. 

Conceiving that this, with what is contained in my letter of 
acceptance, expresses sufficiently for this occasion my views upon the 
matter brought to my attention by your letter, 

I am respectfully, 

Your obedient servant, 

CHAS. J. FOLGER. 


IO 


The following are the letters to Candidates for Congress, and 
the replies received: 

PRESIDENT, 

GEORGE WILLIAM CURTIS. 

VICE-PRESIDENTS, 

BENJ. H. BRISTOW, ROSWELL D. HITCHCOCK, GEO. B. MCCLELLAN, 

ROBERT B. MINTURN, HOWARD POTTER, OSWALD OTTENDORFER, 

JOHN JAY, GEORGE B. BUTLER, 

OFFICE OF THE 

CIVIL-SERVICE REFORM ASSOCIATION. 

NO. 4 PINE STREET, NEW YORK, 1882. 

Sir : 

We have the honor on behalf of the 
Civil-Service Reform Association, to ask your views of the Reform of 
the Civil Service which both political parties in their National Conven¬ 
tions have declared should be thorough and complete, and in particular 
to inquire for the information of the constituency whose suffrages are 
appealed to on your behalf, how far you are prepared to sustain in 
Congress the proposed legislation for carrying these pledges into effect. 

First. The chief measure now pending is the Senate Bill 
entitled “A bill to regulate and improve the Civil Service of the United 
States.” This bill was reported by the Select Committee, composed of 
senators of both parties, to examine the several branches of the Civil 
Service, with an earnest recommendation of its passage. It was pre¬ 
pared with unusual care, to secure the substitution of the Merit System 
for the Partisan Spoils System. It provides for open competitive exami¬ 
nations for testing the capacity of applicants for appointment to most 
of the subordinate offices of the Civil Service, not including elective 
offices, with a period of probation, and promotion on the basis of merit 
and competition. The last section preserves the preference accorded 
to those honorably discharged from the military and naval service. 


11 


The report shows the practical success of this system so far as 
it has been applied, as certified by Presidents Grant, Hayes, and Gar¬ 
field, by members of the Cabinet and by subordinates in the depart¬ 
ments, and as developed in the New York Custom House and Post 
Office. Among the most important are: 

1. The independence it secures to the President, Senators, 
Congressmen, and Executive Officers from the importunities seriously 
obstructive to the public business, of a class of office-seekers of whom 
Mr. ex-Secretary Windom said, “ that the claim of five-sixths of those 
applying for place in the Treasury rested on no better basis than their 
inability to support themselves.” 

2. Greater fidelity and efficiency in the public service, with 
larger intelligence, higher character, and more devotion on the part of 
the employees, due to the awakening of an honorable ambition and the 
development of self-respect. 

3. Economy in the cost of the Public Service. While Gov¬ 
ernor Cornell and Mayor Grace of New York estimate the saving at 
one-third, President Garfield held that “ with a judicious system of Civil 
Service, the business of the departments could be better done at one-half 
the cost.” 

4. Increased strength and dignity to the Government in free¬ 
ing it from patronage, nepotism, and favoritism, with the scandals and 
public indignation which follow in their train. 

5. The opening of the Civil Service by fair competition based 
on common rights and equal justice to the meritorious youth of the Re 
public without distinction. That the effect of this change will encourage 
popular education and good conduct by securing rewards for excellence, 
is shown by the remark of Sir Charles Trevelyan that “ in England the 
opening of the Civil and Military Service in its influence upon National 
education was equivalent to an hundred thousand scholarships and ex¬ 
hibitions of the most valuable kind.” 

Second. Another measure deemed essential to the purity of 
the Civil Service and on which Congress has already acted in part, is 
the prevention by law of all attempts to create a partisan election fund 
by the assessment of a percentage on the salaries of National office¬ 
holders numbering more than one hundred thousand. The impropriety 


1-2 


of such assessments untruly called voluntary contributions, levied with¬ 
out law and sometimes collected in violation of law, is enhanced by the 
secrecy observed in regard to the fund. President Garfield said that“ in 
many cases it never got beyond the pockets of the shysters, the hangers- 
on, and the mere camp-followers of the party.” 

The early passage of these two measures by the next Congress 
is important with reference to the Presidential canvass and election— 
that that election may be a contest for principle and policy, and not for 
a division of offices as the spoils of victory. 

We beg leave, sir, respectfully to ask in reference to these two 
measures — the Senate bill to regulate and improve the Civil Service, and 
the House bill prohibiting political assessments,—whether you approve 
of the principle on which they are based, and whether, if elected to Con¬ 
gress, you are prepared to give them your active support. 


We desire also to be informed whether you favor all or any 


of the results which we have stated we expect to accomplish by the 
passage of the two bills referred to. In case you disapprove of the 
substantial provisions of these bills, we desire to know by what legisla¬ 
tion, if any, you propose to accomplish these results. 


Should you deem it proper, in answering our inquiries, to favor 


us with your views on these points, and on the best practical methods 
for hastening the legislative reform of the Civil Service and making it 
thorough and complete, the Association will appreciate your courtesy 
and give to your suggestions careful consideration. 


Should you approve of political assessments, we should be 


indebted to you if you would kindly inform us, whether you approve of 
using the money collected in that way for the publication of such matter 
as is contained in the “ Republican Campaign Text-Book” of 1882, 
especially that part of it which refers to Civil-Service Reform. 


We are, Sir, 


Very respectfully yours, 


GEORGE WILLIAM CURTIS, 1 
JOHN JAY, 

EVERETT P. WHEELER, j 


Committee . 


WILLIAM POTTS, 


3 


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Babylon, Long Island, November 4th, 1882. 

Gentlemen:— 

In reply to the inquiries you have addressed to me, I have to 
say that I sympathize entirely with the opinions respecting Civil-Service 
Reform, which were so clearly and tersely expressed by Mayor Cleveland, 
the Democratic candidate for Governor of New York, in his admirable 
letter to you of the 28th ultimo. Those opinions I have endeavored to 
enforce when I have had occasion to address my constituents during the 
pending canvass. It must be borne in mind that Congress, in execution 
of the second clause of the second section of the second article of the 
Constitution, has “ vested the appointment ” of the inferior officers, to 
whom your inquiries chiefly refer, in the President and in the heads of 
Departments: the responsibility for removals and fresh appointments has 
thus been clearly defined and fixed by the law-making power. What is 
needed, therefore, among other things, is to hold the President and the 
heads of departments to a faithful execution of that part of the duties 
of their several offices. The only way by which the voters can effec¬ 
tively reach the superior officers who may be guilty of the reprehensible 
conduct referred to in your letter, is by their ballots for Presidential 
electors, and by the appointment of a President who will take care that 
no head of a department tolerate the pernicious' practice to which you 
allude. Respectfully your obedient servant, 

PERRY BELMONT. 

George William Curtis, Chairman of Committee. 

To George William Curtis, John Jay, Everett P. Wheeler, and William 

Potts, Cotnmittee : 

Sirs:— 

I have pleasure in acknowledging the receipt of your com¬ 
munication of the 20th irist., and rejoice in the fact that a body of citi¬ 
zens of such exalted character and standing as the association which 
you represent have undertaken the task of purifying the Civil Service of 
our Government, as I believe your work will contribute largely to the 
purification of the politics and political methods of the country. 

The party which I represent has been called into existence 
in consequence of the corruption which has taken possession of those 
who control the Democratic and Republican parties; therefore, of neces- 


sity, the reformation and purification of all parts of the political machin¬ 
ery is, and must be, a fundamental tenet of our party. 

Hence it seems a matter of course that I should be in 
sympathy with the purposes of the “ Civil-Service Reform League,” and 
should it so chance (which is altogether improbable) that I should be 
elected to Congress, my own impulses, as well as party fealty, would 
lead me to favor any legislation calculated to produce the results it 
aims at. 

As to the “ Bill to Regulate and Improve the Civil Service of 
the U?iited States ,” I have no changes to suggest, unless it be that the 
Commission thereby provided for shall be strictly non-partisan in its 
composition. That when, as is now the case, there are three parties, 
with national organizations, in the field, each shall have at least one re¬ 
presentative in the Commission; also, the addition to Section 5 of said 
bill the words: “ and removal from office, and disqualification for hold¬ 
ing any office of trust or authority under the United States.” 

I think the propriety of these additions will be apparent, though 
I should be ready to give the bill, as it is, my most hearty support. 

As to the prohibition of the levy of political assessments on 
office-holders, no law can be drawn with too much care for the preven¬ 
tion of that evil. 

All subordinate officers, whose duties are simply ministerial or 
clerical, should not only be carefully protected from the pressure of politi¬ 
cal influence on their actions, but also, as much as possible, from all 
temptation to use their positions for partisan purposes. 

Not only am I in favor of the most thorough reform practic¬ 
able of the Civil Service of the country, but I believe that it.would not 
only tend to the elevation of the political sentiment of the country, but 
prove an economic measure, if provision were made for the payment from 
public funds of all the actually necessary expenses of elections of all 
grades, even down to party primaries, and the prohibition of assessments 
on candidates for office. But as this is beyond the range of the pur¬ 
poses of your “ League,” I will not trouble you with the details which would 
be necessary for this purpose. 

Believing, as I do, that the preservation of free institutions, in 
spirit as well as in name, depends upon a broad, general intelligence of 
the people, and the free and uncorrupted exercise of the elective fran¬ 
chise, I shall, in whatever position I may be placed, use my whole influ¬ 
ence to prevent and punish the use of money, or any other means, for the 
corruption or coercion of the political action of either citizen or official. 

Trusting that this will give you a clear understanding of my 
position and views, I remain, with high regards, 

Yours truly, 

H. MARKHAM. 


*5 


Brooklyn, October 28th, 1882, 
Frederic Cromwell , Esq. and others , Committee, 

Gentlemen: — 

Your circular on behalf of the Civil-Service Reform Associa¬ 
tion of Brooklyn is received, and at your request I beg leave to say that 
I have been in the past, as I shall be in the future, a sincere advocate 
of the principles of your organization. I am in favor of the Senate bill 
to regulate and improve the Civil Service of the United States, and 
have been and shall be the inveterate foe of all attempts to create a 
partisan election fund by levying assessments on the salaries of office¬ 
holders. We need further and more specific legislation to purify the 
atmosphere of the political service. The great need of our time is to 
secure the election, of civil officers at least, by the people. The centri¬ 
petal power of our government is dangerous to our system. We are fast 
losing sight of all ideas of economy in the management of public affairs, 
and all sense of shame for the scandals arising from favoritism and 
nepotism. In opening the Civil Service to competition, we must see that 
it is fair, equal, and just. The spirit that engineered the proxies of recent 
conventions could turn competitive examinations into “ a delusion, a 
mockery, and a snare.” To save our Republican form of government, 
we must thoroughly reduce the expenses of the army, the navy, and the 
civil and diplomatic service. The taxation robbery of the people for the 
accumulation of vast sums of money in our Treasury should be stopped, 
internal revenue taxation should be abolished, and a judicious tariff, 
adapted to the honestly-estimated cost of a reformed, incorruptible, and 
economical administration of government, and to the welfare of the 
American people, should be adopted. With all the abuses of the franking 
privilege, star route frauds, etc., the Post-Office department is paying 
more than its expenses and adding to the accumulated corruption fund 
of surplus in the Treasury, which, like a powerful political magnet, attracts 
the fraud of the country around its too widely opened doors. This Post- 
Office surplus is an oppressive tax upon the intelligence of the country. 
Abolish the franking privilege and pass a law establishing penny postage 
on single letters to all parts of our country and, if possible, to all parts 
of the world; cut down with inexorable knife the extravagant costs of 
Congress. Reduce its useless printing, and condense its swollen Record 


16 


to speeches actually delivered in session. Compel all Government em¬ 
ployees, including the President, members of the Cabinet and of Congress 
to attend to their duties in business hours, with a forfeiture of pay 
for all absence. No use of public property for private purposes, and, if 
any of our public vessels can be spared for excursions, let them be used 
for daily trips around the harbors or out to sea, with free passage for our 
poor soldiers, their wives or widows and children, for the restoration of 
their health and for their relief from the sufferings of the summer heat 
in crowded tenements. No flag but. the national flag to be used by any 
officer or department of the Government. All civil lists and pensions 
should be abolished, except pensions to soldiers and sailors and to those 
who have rendered great service to their country, and to their widows 
and children who are in straitened circumstances. All appropriations 
for contingent funds and secret service should be resisted, and items 
should be rendered from all departments for all expenditures. Appro¬ 
priations for deficiencies, which, at the last session, rose to within a frac¬ 
tion of ten millions of dollars, should be stubbornly resisted. All 
appropriations might and should be reduced one-half. They have just 
about doubled in the last ten years. In 1878 the entire appropriations 
were only a little over eighty-six millions. The present year they are over 
two hundred and fifty millions of dollars. I may add that in all Civil- 
Service Reform we must try to avoid the imitating of monarchical govern¬ 
ments, which have systematized the robbery of the people for the benefit 
of court favorites and privileged classes. 

These are but a few of the ideas of reform in our civil and mili¬ 
tary service which I have advocated for many years, and which I shall 
continue to advocate as long as I may be permitted to take part in pub¬ 
lic affairs. It is easy to go down hill, and hard to retrace the steps by 
which we have fallen away from the eminence of former times. We 
cannot expect ever to get back to the economy of our fathers, who, even 
as late as the days of the younger Adams, ran the entire Government, 
treasury, army, navy, the executive, the legislative, the judiciary, the 
diplomatic, and all other departments and branches and bureaus of our 
Government, for a less sum than that which was appropriated at the last 
session of Congress for the River and Harbor bill alone. But we may 
hope for, and should labor to secure a return to, the ideas of self govern- 


*7 


ment and democratic principles, as understood and practiced in the better 
days of the republic. 

Very truly yours, 

W. E. ROBINSON. 

Brooklyn, Oct. 24, 1882. 

Messrs. Frederic Cromwell , William Potts, and others , Committee: 

Gentlemen :— 

I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your communi¬ 
cation of this date, calling my attention to what are known as the Senate 
Bill—to regulate and improve the Civil Service of the United States, 
and the House Bill prohibiting political assessments, and asking whether 
I approve of the principles on which they are based, and whether, if 
elected to Congress, I am prepared to give them my active support. I 
reply emphatically in the affirmative. These bills may not complete the 
legislative work necessary to secure the purposes which you enumerate 
and which all good citizens must approve, but they are a firm and wel¬ 
come step in the right direction. 

The people demand that our next Congress shall give prompt 
attention to subjects of this character, and, in doing so, its members will 
enter a field which neither party has wholly appropriated. 

Very truly yours, 

DAVID A. BOODY. 

New York, October 30, 1882. 

To Committee of Civil-Service Reform Association of Brooklyn: 

Gentlemen:— 

I have your letter of 24th inst. Please excuse me for delaying 
reply. I have long been an advocate of Civil-Service Reform, and am 
in hearty sympathy with the objects you seek to obtain, as set forth in 
the circular letter. I pledge myself to co-operate with you in an effort 
to accomplish such legislation as will secure this end. I am in favor of 
the bill referred to, as I understand its provisions (I believe the bill to 
be the Pendleton bill), and also in favor of a bill to prohibit political 
assessments. 

Yours truly, 

DARWIN R. JAMES. 


t8 


Brooklyn, Oct. 30th, 1882. 

To Messrs. Frederic Cromwell, William Potts, Augustus Van Wyck, 

Edwin Packard, H W. Maxwell, and Edwa?'d M. Shepard. 

Gentlemen :— 

I have read the circular of the Civil-Service Reform Associa¬ 
tion forwarded by you to me, containing the request that I should 
express my views on the subject “ of the Reform of the civil service.” 

You will not, I am sure, regard the briefness of my reply as 
due to any underestimate of the importance of the questions you have 
under consideration. I consider it of the greatest importance to put the 
Civil Service of the country on a strictly business basis. So long as there 
are a hundred thousand office-holders dependent upon the fortunes of 
political parties for their positions, the people will never, in my judg¬ 
ment, be served as they ought to be, nor will our elections be, as they 
ought to be, free in the proper sense. 

My opinion, however, is that the good you aim at is to be 
sought in more than one way. If elected to Congress, I shall, while 
casting whatever strength I may have in favor of competitive examina¬ 
tions, proceed upon the theory that the reform most needed is to reduce 
the number of Federal employes. There are at present more than a 
hundred thousand of them. In my judgment, by a proper arrangement 
of our system of taxation and a return to the principles of administration 
contemplated by the Constitution, we can reduce by nearly two-thirds 
the army of civil officials paid out of the Federal Treasury. 

The time has come, I think, when the whole internal revenue 
system ought to be abolished. If this were done, the way would be 
opened for other simplifications in the process of carrying forward our 
Government which would make easy the work to which you are address¬ 
ing yourselves. 

I am, gentlemen, your servant, 

WILLIAM HESTER. 

Brooklyn, Oct. 30th, 1882. 

To Frederic Cromwell a?id others of the Civil-Service Reform Associa¬ 
tion of Brooklyn: 

Gentlemen:— 

Your circular, dated Oct. 24th, is received. I am in full sym¬ 
pathy with every measure advanced by your Association. 

Very respectfully, 

Your obedient servant, 

FELIX CAMPBELL. 


Brooklyn, Nov. ist, 1882. 


My dear Friend:— 

I am in receipt of the package from the Civil-Service Com¬ 
mittee, and I have looked it over hastily, as I could not do otherwise. 

I was nominated on Saturday evening last against my wishes 
and protest, but the nomination seemed to come in a way that left me 
no alternative but to accept; it is not at all likely, however, that I shall 
be elected in this strong Democratic district, so, whatever my views 
might be, I could neither aid nor oppose any measure in Congress, on 
this or any other subject. But I have no hesitation in saying I am in 
favor of some law in regard to reform of the Civil Service that will 
improve upon the past and present state of things in this regard.—I had 
something to do with bringing about what little we have of it now, and 
it certainly has been a great relief to the appointing power, and better 
men have been employed.—There should be a term fixed by law, and 
the appointees should be subjected to such an examination as would in¬ 
sure their competency to discharge the duties they proposed to assume. 

I never believed in assessments, and never recognized any¬ 
body’s right to say to me what I must give , as I claimed the right to 
determine that for myself, and I have had some experience in this way. 
Hoping you will excuse my answering more in detail, as I have not a 
moment to spare, 

Yours truly, 

C. W. GODARD. 

To Frederic Cromwell and others, Committee. 


Gentlemen :— 


New York, Oct. 31, 1882. 


I acknowledge the receipt of a circular letter issued by you as 
a Committee of the Civil-Service Reform Association, in which you ask 
my opinion in respect to certain legislation now pending in Congress, 
which is designed to improve the Civil Service and to prevent the 
assessment of Federal officeholders. 

I have for ten years been a public advocate of these reforms, 
and have used whatever influence I may have had to introduce them 
into the service of the State and of the General Government. 

I have read the Senate bill entitled, “ A bill to regulate and 
improve the Civil Service of the United States,” and I think its provi¬ 
sions may usefully be applied to a large part of the public service. 


20 


If I am elected to Congress, it, or some equivalent measure, 
will have my active support. 

As to the Bill relating to the assessment of officeholders to 
which your letter refers, I regret that I have never had an opportunity 
to see it, and, therefore, cannot pronounce upon it. But I take this 
occasion to say that, in my opinion, the use of money to influence the 
political action of the people is the greatest peril to which our country 
is now exposed. 

The chief source of this corrupting and degrading influence is 
the fund which is made up by exactions upon employes of the Govern¬ 
ment. A large part of the money paid out by the Treasury for the pub¬ 
lic service is used to control party conventions and corrupt the franchise. 

I assure you, and all who are in any way interested in my 
action, that, if I am elected to Congress, I will earnestly advocate such 
effective legislation as Avill correct this most menacing evil. 

You ask me for my opinion on the best practical methods for 
hastening the legislative reform of the Civil Service. 

I answer that the measure which I think will be most effective 
in working out these reforms, and which will be immediate in its oper¬ 
ation, is such a reduction in the number of officeholders as will result 
from a radical reduction of Federal expenditure on taxation. A large 
part of the official force may then be dispensed with, and an effective 
remedy be at once applied to the evils which you are endeavoring to 
reform. Believe me, Gentlemen, 

Very respectfully, your servant, 

WILLIAM DORSHEIMER. 

To GEORGE WILLIAM CURTIS, Esq. 

The Hon. JOHN JAY, 

EVERETT P. WHEELER, Esq., 

WILLIAM POTTS, Esq. 

21 W. ioth St., New York, November ist, 1882. 
Messrs. George William Curtis , John Jay , et al., Committee Civil- Service 

Reform Association , 4 Pine St., City: 

Gentlemen :— 

I am in receipt of your communication of the 24th ultimo, 
with enclosures, in which you state certain propositions and ask me cer- 


21 


tain questions and pledges as to my proposed course in Congress, if 
elected, upon the subject of Civil Service. 

For your information I will state that I approve of the admin¬ 
istration of the departments of the National Government upon business 
principles, and, in the subordinate positions, I believe in promotion on 
account of merit; I think that the employee should be protected in his 
position during good behavior and efficiency for a fixed term. 

• I believe that full and thorough legislation is necessary on the 
subject of Civil Service, and I approve of the general principles of the 
Senate Bill to regulate it; but, while I am in favor of a good and whole¬ 
some reform of the Civil Service, I prefer not to answer categorically 
your question if I am prepared to give the above Bill my active support, 
having determined, upon accepting the nomination for Congress, that I 
would give no man nor body of men or association any pledge whatso¬ 
ever as to my course or conduct in Congress, if elected, except that I 
would carefully consider all measures with a view to the public interest, 
and it is my purpose, if elected, to aid legislation in the direction sug¬ 
gested by your communication. 

I have the honor to be, Gentlemen, 

Yours very respectfully, 

JOHN W. RUSSELL. 


New York, Oct. 31st, 1882. 

; Gentlemen :— 

I beg to state, in answer to your circular addressed to me 
asking my views in relation to the bill entitled, “ A Bill to Regulate and 
Improve the Civil Service of the United States,” that I have subscribed 
to the platform of the Syracuse Convention which substantially covers 
the provisions contained therein. I have no hesitation in saying that I 
am heartily in sympathy with every effort in that direction, and, if elected 
to Congress, will use my best endeavors to further the objects for which 
your Association has been formed. 

Very respectfully, 

JOHN J. ADAMS. 

GEORGE WILLIAM CURTIS, Esq. 

JOHN JAY, Esq. 

EVERETT P. WHEELER, Esq. 

WILLIAM POTTS, Esq. 


22 


247 West 25 St., New York, Oct. 26, 1882. 

Gentlemen :— 

Your circular asking me whether, if elected to Congress for 
the Eighth Congressional District, I will support a proposed bill to regu¬ 
late and improve the Civil Service of the United States, a copy of which 
bill you have forwarded to me, is received. My reply to that question, 
and to all the other questions propounded in your circular, is em¬ 
phatically, Yes. 

The fact that the reforms which you propose merely skim the 
surface of that mass of corruption and injustice which poisons our 
whole social system, would not deter me from promoting your objects 
within the limits of my ability and opportunities. 

I am, very respectfully, 

LOUIS F. POST. 

To GEORGE WILLIAM CURTIS, 

JOHN JAY, 

EVERETT P. WHEELER, 

WILLIAM POTTS. 

Committee of Civil-Service Refor?n Association . 

New York, October 25, 1882. 

Gentlemen :— 

I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of a circular letter, 
in which, as a committee of the Civil-Service Reform Association, you 
ask me whether, if I am elected to Congress, I shall be in favor of the 
Senate bill entitled “ A Bill to Regulate and Improve the Civil Service 
of the United States,” and also of the House bill “prohibiting assess¬ 
ments upon office-holders for the purpose of creating- a partisan election 
fund.” 

My views as to these measures, and as to a necessity for reform 
in the Civil Service, are so well known and have been so often expressed 
upon the floor of the House, that 1 suppose your circular letter is only 
sent to me in order that you may have on your files a distinct report from 
each candidate for Congress. I beg leave, therefore, to say that I shall 
advocate the passage of both of the measures referred to, and I go further 
and say that, unless the system which now prevails of appointment to office, 
and of organizing the office-holders into a ring for keeping themselves in 
office shall be reformed, our system of free government will be destroyed, 


23 


and the generation which permits such a calamity to occur will prove 
that it is unworthy of the privileges which it received from the fathers of 
the Republic. 

I do not undertake now to consider the details of the proposed 
legislation. It is possible that some changes may be desirable, and it 
would be strange if in practice it shall not be found necessary to arrive 
at closer definitions; but as to the general principles of the legislation 
proposed, I have not only no doubt, but I am altogether persuaded of 
the necessity of their immediate application. I have the honor to be, 
very respectfully, 


Your obedient servant, 


ABRAM S. HEWITT. 


Messrs. GEORGE WILLIAM CURTIS. 



JOHN JAY. 

EVERETT P. WHEELER. 
WILLIAM POTTS. 


The Civil-Service Reform Association , No. 4 and 6 Pine St., City. 

Rossmore Hotel, New York, November 2nd, 1882. 

George William Curtis , John Jay , Everett P. Wheeler , William Potts , 

Committee of the Civil-Service Reform Association. 

Gentlemen : — 

In reply to your recent letter, I have to say I am in favor of 
immediate and complete reform in the methods of appointment and 
removal in the civil service of the country, as well as the States. I 
believe that such reform will accomplish all the good which you predict, 
and greater good than can now be fully foreseen. 

I heartily approve of “ the opening of the civil service by fair 
competition based on common rights and equal justice to the meritorious 
youth of the country without distinction.” 

I am in favor of the Senate Bill entitled, “ A Bill to Regulate 
and Improve the Civil Service of the United States,” known as the Pen¬ 
dleton Bill. As one of the Committee on Legislation of your Associa¬ 
tion, I carefully examined and approved this bill. 


24 


I am unalterably opposed to political assessments upon office¬ 
holders and employees of the government, either in the Nation or the 
State, and am in favor of the measure now before Congress to prohibit 
such assessments by law. 

Spoils and patronage as rewards for political partisan service 
are destructive of the best interests of the country. As means of hold¬ 
ing office and power against the will of the people, they are treasonable 
to the fundamental principles of the' government. This system has 
resulted in the murder of a President for no other crime than doing his 
constitutional duty unawed and uncontrolled, and now seeks, through its 
influence, to control from the National Capital the election of State offi¬ 
cers in this greatest State of the Union. 

It must be overthrown utterly, or our liberties perish. Whether 
in or out of Congress, I intend to do what in me lies to accomplish such 
overthrow. Very respectfully yours, 

ORLANDO B. POTTER. 


New York, Nov. ist, 1882. 

To John Jay , Esq., President , and the Executive Committee of the West¬ 
chester Co. Civil-Service Reform Association. 

Gentlemen :— 

I have received your letter of October 30th. I heartily ap¬ 
prove of the principle upon which the two measures referred to by you— 
the Senate Bill to regulate and improve the Civil Service, and the House 
Bill prohibiting political assessments—are based, and, if elected to Con¬ 
gress, I am prepared to give them my active support. It seems hardly 
necessary to add that 1 favor all the results which you state you expect 
to accomplish by the passage of the two bills referred to; viz., relieving 
the executive officers from the importunities of office seekers; increasing 
the fidelity and efficiency of public servants, and economy in the cost 
of the service; increasing the strength and dignity of the Government 
by freeing it from patronage and nepotism; and opening the Civil Service 
to all the meritorious youth of the Republic. 

In reply to your last suggestion, I have to say that 1 know of 
no practical method of hastening the Legislative reform of the Civil 


25 


Service, except the electing of members of Congress who will labor for 
the passage of the bills in question, or others of similar scope and design. 

Very respectfully yours, 

WALDO HUTCHINS. 


Cornwall, Orange Co., N. Y., Oct. 21st, 1882. 

My dear sir:— 

I am in receipt of your printed circular relating to Reform in 
the Civil Service, and requesting my views in regard to the same. I re¬ 
gret that the exigencies of the canvass in which I am engaged prevent 
my answering as fully as I would like. 

I will say in brief that I am in favor of the legislation referred 
to in your circular, and will use my best endeavors at the coming session 
to secure its adoption. 

If I am not mistaken, you will find my vote recorded in favor 
of*a kindred measure submitted at the last session by Mr. Willis of Ky. 
I do not now remember the distinct proposition before us, but think 
it was an appropriation of some kind to promote Civil-Service Reform. 
I believe I have fully answered your queries. 

Yours very truly, 

LEWIS BEACH. 

To Geo. Wm. Curtis , Esq. and others , Committee , 4 Pine Street, N. Y. 


Albany, October 28, 1882. 


Gentlemen :— 

Your communication asking my views concerning needed and 
possible reform in the Civil Service of the country and the provisions of 
the Pendleton Bill, of which a copy was inclosed, and my probable 
action in connection therewith, if occasion for such action should arise, 
is at hand. 

The subject of your inquiry is not altogether new to me; I 
have been forced to observe the existence of the evils of the service, 
have reflected upon their tendency, and considered their remedy. Your 
questions are, however, sharply and fairly put. Without any elaboration 
in statement or argument, predicated upon the history of Civil-Service 
agitation in Congress, the fears, the prophesies, since entirely fulfilled, 
and the wise and eloquent utterances of the eminent statesmen engaged 


26 


therein, the investigations and discussions of distinguished authors or of 
personal observation, which would perhaps make the matter more intel¬ 
ligible to and better understood by the public, I answer without reserva¬ 
tion or indirection. 

I believe many of the evils existing in the Civil Service T>f the 
country, and especially those growing out of the unauthorized and in- 
justifiable requirement of submission of persons in subordinate position 
to the demands of party, to unreflecting fealty, and the captious dicta¬ 
tion of superiors may be remedied, at least in part, by intelligent legis¬ 
lation and the honest enforcement of proper laws. 

I have read the Pendleton Bill with some care. Its provisions 
lead in the right direction. Its tenor and purport challenge favor and 
meet my approval. If accredited to a seat in Congress by the favor of my 
fellow citizens, should that bill, or one similar in purport and purpose, 
come before the House of Representatives for its action, I shall give it 
careful consideration, consistent support, my earnest effort to make per¬ 
fect and available its details, and aid in its enactment as a law. 

I have the honor to remain, gentlemen, yours with sentiments 
of regard, 

T. J. VAN ALSTYNE. 

To Messrs. Matthew Hale , Dudley Olcott , Samuel Hand , George H. 

Thacher, W. M. Fan Antwerp , J. F. Rathbone , Jacob H 

Mosher , and others . 


Whitehall, N. Y., Oct. 26th, 1882. 
Messrs. George William Curtis , John Jay , Everett P. Wheeler , Willia?n 

Potts , Committee Civil-Service Reform Association, 4 Pine Street. 

New York. 

Gentlemen :— 

Your circular letter is received, and will briefly state I would 
favor the same care in the employment of persons for the Government 
service that a careful business man would adopt in conducting his own 
business. I do not know of any rules that can be applied to test a man’s 
capabilities except actual service. If they can, I would favor them. My 
own business experience teaches me that only actual service will accom¬ 
plish the desired result. 


2 7 


When a man is once found competent and faithful, I would be 
most certainly opposed to his displacement for any political reasons what¬ 
ever. And am opposed to enforced political assessments. 

Yours with great respect, 

H. G. BURLEIGH. 

Messrs. George William Curtis, John Jay, Everett P. Wheeler and 

William Potts, Committee of Civil-Service Reform Association. 

Gentlemen:— 

Yours, without day of date or post-mark, came to me through 
post-office yesterday. 

As to my views upon three points specified, I respectfully 
answer. The first and second points are sufficiently covered by two 
resolutions adopted by the convention nominating me, as follows: 

“ 3d. We are in favor of practical Civil-Service Reform in 
appointments to, and removals from, office. 

“ 4th. We are opposed to the levying of political assessments 
upon official appointees as such.” 

I fully concur, and am in favor of enforcing those principles by 
appropriate legislation. 

As to the third point, which relates to the Civil-Service Reform 
“ Matter” in the Republican Campaign Text Book of 1882, I respectfully 
refer you for information and explanation to the Hon. Frank Hiscock, 
who was appointed to represent New York upon the Campaign 
Committee. 

Yours very truly, \ 

A. X. PARKER. 

M. C. 19th Dist., N. Y. 

Potsdam, N. Y., Nov. 2, 1882. 

Watertown, Nov. i, 1882. 

To E. Q. Sewall, Esq., President of the Watertown .Civil-Service Re¬ 
form Association. 

Dear Sir : — 

A letter has reached me from the Watertown Civil-Service Re¬ 
form Association, of which 1 have the honor to be a member, asking 
whether, if re-elected to Congress, I will advocate and vote for measures 
intended to purify and increase the efficiency of the Civil Service of the 
Government. 


28 


In reply I have to say that, as a servant of the people in the 
Assembly several terms, and later in the House of Representatives, I 
have considered that I was carrying out the wishes of an intelligent 
constituency in advocating all measures having for their object the con¬ 
duct of State and National affairs on business principles. No reason is 
apparent to me why the business or Civil Service of a State or Nation 
should not be governed by the same rules which govern business men in 
the conduct of their affairs. 

I believe in employing a sufficient number of servants to carry 
on the public business speedily and intelligently, and in paying fair prices 
for such work. I am opposed to the employment of sinecures and of 
unworthy or incompetent men, through political favoritism. 

In reference to a system of Civil-Service Reform, I have much 
respect for the sentiment uttered by the late Zach Chandler, that in this 
matter we must need “ common sense and a good deal of it.” I have 
always supported every measure looking towards the correction of exist¬ 
ing evils, but have not yet seen any satisfactory solution. I shall vote 
for the Dawes or the Pendleton Bill at the first opportuhity, according 
to whichever I deem most complete. 

I believe that the Heads of Departments should select subor¬ 
dinates upon the principle of asking : “ Is the candidate honest ? Is he 

faithful ? Is he capable ?” 

Once appointed, there should be a fixed tenure of office, and 
he should not be removed unless he fails in one or all the foregoing re¬ 
quirements. He should not be compelled to do political work or to pay 
political assessments by virtue of his office, neither should the fact that 
he holds an office deprive him of the usual privileges of citizenship. He 
should not be removed without just cause, to please politicians or fac¬ 
tions, nor to give place to favorites of representatives. 

It will be a glad day to the republic when both parties will 
agree upon this system, and Representatives in Congress denied the sole 
power of saying who shall fill certain offices in their districts. Let legis¬ 
lators legislate; let public officers do their whole duty; let employees do 
the work they are set to do; and let all be able to say : 

‘ ‘ Pledged but to truth, to liberty, and law, 

No favors win us, and no fear shall awe.” 

Very respectfully, 

CHARLES R. SKINNER. 


(Signed,) 


2 9 


Utica, N. Y., Oct. 25, 1882. 

To the Utica Civil-Se?'vice Reform Association : 

Gents:— 

Your communication, under date of Oct. 18, was received by 
me this morning, and I cheerfully comply with your request. 

You ask for my views of the “ Reform of the Civil Service.” 

I believe that the reform of the Civil Service is much needed, 
and fully approve the principles upon which it is based and the “results” 
to be accomplished as set forth in your communication, and, if elected to 
Congress, shall take pleasure in aiding all in my power to procure the 
passage of the bills to which you refer, or bills similar, and having for 
their object the reform desired by your association. 

Yours respectfully, 

J. THOS. SPRIGGS. 

Durhamville, N. Y.,*Oct. 26, 1882. 

Gentlemen :— 

Owing to my absence from home, your favor of Oct. 18 was 
not received by me until yesterday. 

In reply to the questions therein contained, permit me to say. 
that I am heartily in favor of an honest, efficient, and business-like 
administration of the Civil Service in both the National and the State 
Governments. 

The measures referred to in your letter are undoubtedly the 
most practical solution yet offered of the perplexing question of Reform 
in the Government service, and as such I will, if elected, give them 
most cordial support. 

Realizing that the Republican party has always been com¬ 
mitted to the cause which you advocate, and that it alone has made any 
practical progress in that cause, I pledge myself, if elected, because of 
my Republican faith and as a part thereof, to aid in the furtherance of 
any and all judicious measures for carrying on the great work in which 
you are enlisted. 

Thanking you for the opportunity of expressing my views, 

I am yours, 

SAMUEL H. FOX. 

Oswego, N. Y., Oct. 21, 1882. 
George William Curtis and others , Committee , etc. 

Gentlemen :— 

I am in receipt of your circular under date of Oct. 20, (form 1) 


In reply I beg to state that I do not expect to be in Congress, but that, 
in or out of Congress; I am emphatically in favor of the Civil-Service 
Reform indicated in the circular, including all the measures described and 
all the propositions stated therein. I am gentlemen, 

Very respectfully yours, j 

CHARLES RHODES. 


To the Utica Civil-Service Reform Association . 

Oswego City, Oct. 23, 1882. 


Gentlemen : 


This circular demands and should have a carefully prepared 
answer,—not an answer to admit and avoid, but really to show in an 
honest way how and where I am upon the subjects spoken of. I have 
been for the last week confined to the house with a very painful illness, 
and this is my first attempt to work. The subject of Civil Service 
Reform is one of importance, and I have no hesitancy in saying that I 
am and shall be in favor, (if elected), of a law' providing for admissions 
into the service upon examination, and for advancement according to 
merit when once there. I do not believe this service should be partisan, 
or be allowed to be used to partisan ends. 

I do not believe in assessments for political purposes imposed 
on any one, much less on persons simply in the employ of the Govern¬ 
ment. I do not believe in assessing candidates for office. I think it 
would be better, more manly, that the candidate contribute; to assess 
with threat, direct or indirect, of dismissal if assessment be not paid, is 
simply “ blackmail ” and nothing else. 

Yours, etc., 


N. W. NUTTING. 


Syracuse, N. Y., November 4th, 1882. 
Professor G. F. Comfort, Corresponding Secretary , etc,, Syracuse. 

My Dear Sir :— 

I am at this moment in receipt of your communication of the 
3rd inst., on behalf of the Syracuse Civil-Service Reform Association, 
inquiring what my course will be in reference to legislation to regulate 
and improve the Civil Service of the United States. Answering it, I 
would say that I shall earnestly support such legislation. The bill at 
this time pending in the United States Senate upon this subject is not 
now before me, but in the main, as I recall it, it will accomplish, if it 
becomes a law, wffiat in my judgment should be accomplished. 


3 * 


One of the great objects to be attained is the independence of 
office-holders from an appointing power with the right of summary 
removal. That accomplished, you will remove from partisan politics a 
vast army of office-holders, which may and often does thwart well-con¬ 
sidered and just popular movements in politics. Another result which 
will follow will be the organization of a Civil-Service Establishment for 
the services which it will render the government, rather than the support 
which it will give to a partisan leader. 

I shall do all I can to promote legislation which will remove 
the influence of office-holders from caucuses and conventions. 

I am in favor of most stringent legislation for the prevention 
of all attempts to create a partisan election fund by an assessment of the 
salaries of the national office-holders. In the first place, such an assess¬ 
ment is an indirect contribution by the government to party support, to 
which I am opposed. In the next place, it is corrupting and demoral¬ 
izing in its tendencies in our politics, and therefore should be prevented. 

Immediately upon the organization of the branch of the asso¬ 
ciation in Syracuse which you represent, I joined it, and with the 
intention of furthering to the best of my ability the purposes which it 
has in view. 

The lateness of the receipt of your letter renders only the 
above brief reply possible, if I am to respond promptly, and such 1 
understand to be your desire. 

Yours respectfully, 

FRANK HISCOCK. 

November 2nd, 1882. 

D. L. Hurlburt , Secy, etc. 

Dear Sir :— 

Yours of the 30th ult. was duly received. I recognize fully 
your right to inquire as to my views upon the questions relating to the 
Reform of the Civil Service. 

I regret that the constant and unremitting demands upon my 
time, growing out of a short canvass, will not permit me to answer your 
many questions in detail. But possibly I may be able to state my posi- 


3 2 


tion as clearly in a brief letter, as in an attempt to give a categorical 
answer to your many questions. 

I believe that Reform in the Civil-Service is necessary, and that 
it should begin at once. It should be “ thorough, radical and com¬ 
plete;” clerks should be appointed on the ground of personal fitness, to 
be ascertained upon competitive examination. Promotion should be 
made in like manner, from the lower ranks. 

The rules governing such examinations should be such as a 
prudent business man would suggest in his own business affairs, and in 
selecting his own clerks. Such examinations should be practical, not 
too scholastic, thus giving the sons of the farmer and the mechanic, with 
their common school or academic education and practical knowledge of 
affairs, an equal chance with the college-bred sons of the rich. 

But honesty and fidelity are fully as essential as capacity. 
These appointments must necessarily be made from all sections of the 
country. And right here comes in the only proper sphere of action for 
members of congress, viz., to give, when requested by the appointing 
power, the benefit of their knowledge of the character of the applicant. 
Such a duty involves little waste of time, no loss of self-respect, and no 
bargainings of place for political support. 

Tenure of office should be fixed and certain, depending upon 
no contingency except such cause of removal as would be deemed 
sufficient by an intelligent, prudent, business man, in reference to his 
own employees. 

I do not believe in political assessments upon the employees 
of the government. It is wrong in principle, and very harmful in its 
effects upon the service. A failure to contribute to the legitimate 
expenses of a campaign should never operate as a cause for removal or 
as a hindrance to promotion. 

Such briefly are my views in regard to the Civil Service. I 
should favor any measure fairly calculated to put them into practical 
application. 

Yours respectfully, 

SERENO E. PAYNE. 


33 


Geneses, Nov. 21, 1882. 

Wm. Potts , Esq., Secretary , <?4r. 

My dear Sir:— 

Your letter of the nth came duly to hand. I did not answer 
your circular which reached me in October, for I thought that my 
position on the question of the management of our Civil Service was 
well understood. 


If 1 ever had any doubts as to the need of a radical reform in 
the manner of appointment to, and of the necessity of a fixed tenure in, 
our Civil Service, four winters in Albany and one in Washington were 
more than sufficient to dispel any that I may have had. 

Without at the present time discussing the details of the import¬ 
ant question which your Association has so wisely, and against great 
odds, forced to the attention of the public, I beg to assure you that I 
shall most heartily support the Pendleton bill, or any other bill looking 
to the same end. I shall also support the bill prohibiting political 
assessments. 

Very truly, 

J. W. WADSWORTH. 


Binghampton, Oct. 18, 1882. 

W. H. Sage , Esq., Chairman. 

Dear Sir: — 

Yours of the 16th inst. at hand. I regret my inability, by 
reason of prior engagements, to be present at a meeting of your associa¬ 
tion called for next Monday evening. 

I do not hesitate to say that I am heartily in favor of any 
legislation or movement that has for its object the improvement of our 
Civil Service. 

I believe that original appointments should be based on ascer¬ 
tained fitness, personal qualifications: that the lower grades of our Civil 
Service should be filled with young men whose capacity has been thor¬ 
oughly and fairly tested, and I can conceive of no better means of de¬ 
termining the fitness of the applicant than a competitive examination, an 
examination that shall be fair, honest, and open to the public, that shall 


34 


give precisely the same chance to every young man whether he be the 
son of rich or poor parents. 

In this way the person best qualified or fitted to discharge the 
duties of the position will be appointed. 

As to the bill known as the “ Pendleton Bill,” so far as I have 
had an opportunity for its examination I endorse it, and, should I be 
elected a member of the House of Representatives, I should earnestly 
support it or a similar bill. Yet I do not think in one respect it goes far 
enough. The examination should not only be public, but of such a 
character as to satisfy the public that the person receiving the appoint¬ 
ment was justly and honestly entitled to it. In this way the commission 
appointed by the President would act fearlessly in the performance of 
its duties, and be placed in a position independent of any outside pres¬ 
sure or influence. Very truly, 

STEPHEN C. MILLARD. 

Cuba, N. Y., Oct. 31, 1882. 

Dr. T A. Wales , Secretary , etc .: 

Dear Sir :— 

Your letter advising me of the action of the Elmira Civil-Ser¬ 
vice Reform Association is received, and I regret that I am unable, for 
lack of time, to give it the careful consideration it merits. I am ready 
to co-operate earnestly with your association, its main object being, as I 
understand it, a thorough reformation of our civil service. It needs but 
a moment’s reflection to convince any lover of good government who 
desires a pure and efficient administration of public affairs, that the 
efforts of those who labor for a practical civil-service reform deserve and 
will ultimately meet with success. 

The growing abuses in our present system and the apparent 
need of reform have already enlisted the earnest attention of many of 
the ablest men of the country, whose thoughtful and weighty words have 
made a deep impression upon the public mind, that will exert a controll¬ 
ing influence upon our national legislation. 

Honest, practical competition lends vigor, intelligence, and 
efficiency where properly applied. Competition awakens the ambition 
of the student, inspires and calls into action the best qualities of the 
minister, the advocate, and the physician. It makes of the laborer the 
skilled workman. “ Competition is the life of business.” Our Civil 
Service should be conducted on strictly business principles, and cannot 


35 


be too soon established on that basis. The party that thoroughly inau¬ 
gurates that system will win the lasting gratitude of the people. 

I approve of the Senate measure entitled, “ A Bill to regulate 
and improve the Civil Service of the United States.” It is a just, wise, 
and comprehensive measure, and I endorse it heartily, especially as it 
preserves the preference assured to those honorably discharged from the 
military and naval service. 

The importunities of those seeking appointments are not only 
extremely harassing to the executive and representatives, but also con¬ 
sume much valuable time and attention that should be given to an intel¬ 
ligent discharge of the more important duties entrusted to them. 

Public servants, high and low, should be selected because of 
their special fitness for the respective positions, and not because of their 
peculiar faculty for carrying caucuses and manipulating conventions. 

The bill in question would certainly secure a more faithful, 
intelligent and economical discharge of the duties connected with our 
Civil Service, than is possible under the present system. No feature of 
the Civil Service is more objectionable than that which tolerates the 
appointing of relatives and political favorites without reference to their 
fitness. A proper enforcement of the provisions of the Senate Bill would 
substantially put an end to this evil that has so often brought our present 
system into disrepute. 

With regard to the House Bill, allow me to say that, while I 
know of no good reason why government employees, in common with 
others who desire the success of party principles, should not, if they 
desire, be allowed to contribute towards legitimate campaign expenses, I 
am opposed to enforced assessments and removal from positions merely 
because employees refuse to so contribute. In short I am opposed to 
enforced assessments under any guise whatever. 

While there are some minor features in the measures to which 
you invite attention that could be so amended as to more fully meet my 
views, I would, if elected, favor and vote for the passage of both. 

Very truly yours, 

' ..rf!.' . . A. E. BAXTER. 


Elmira, Oct. 30, 1882. 

7: A. Wales , Secretary Elmira Civil-Service Reform Association: 
Gentlemen:— 

The letter to me of your association, as one of the candidates 
for Congress in this district, was just received. In reply, permit me to 
say that I most heartily approve all the measures for reform in our Civil 


3 6 


Service, so fully set forth in your communication, and, if elected, I will 
make every effort within my power to secure their adoption. 

Yours truly, 

JOHN ARNOT. 


To the Elmira C. S. R. Association, J JD. F Slee, Chairman Executive 
Committee : 

Gentlemen:— 

Your communication of the 28th inst. is at hand. In com¬ 
mon with most thoughtful men, I hold that the Civil Service of State 
and Nation needs prompt and thorough reformation. The “ Pendleton 
bill,” so called, would accordingly meet my hearty support, in case I 
were elected, since it appears to me wisely and comprehensively drafted 
to check and obviate some of the more glaring abuses that now obtain 
in the clerical divisions of the executive departments. I am free to say, 
however, that in conformity with the platform of the party which has 
honored me with its nomination, I hold that such minor non-clerical 
trusts as our country post-offices, should be filled by popular election. 
Nor do I believe in the advisability of a life tenure; this were not in 
harmony with the genius of our institutions. On the other hand I am 
in favor of a fixed tenure, for a reasonable term of years, to be graded 
according to the nature of the service required— durmg good behavior. 
I am constrained to add, also, that it is not the adoption of any one or 
any number of measures, however wise and far-reaching their provisions, 
—but the faithful and fearless execution, that can or will accomplish the 
desired reform. Indeed, there has not been of late any lack of statutory 
provisions or executive orders, but that through them the evils we 
deplore might long since have been eradicated, had the people seen fit 
to hold their Presidents and Governors accountable for their faithful 
execution. 

Respectfully yours, 

A. E. SHATTUCK. 

Rochester, N. Y., Nov. 1st, 1882. 

Theodore Bacon, L. P Ross, and Porter Farley, Committee of Civil- 
Service Reform Association of Rochester. 

Gentlemen :— 

Your letter of the 27th ult., with regard to Civil-Service Re¬ 
form, has been received. 


37 


You desire to know what my action would be on the Senate 
bill, commonly known as the Pendleton Bill, entitled “ A Bill to Regu¬ 
late and Improve the Civil Service of the United States;” also what my 
action would be on “ the House Bill Prohibiting Political Assessments,” 
—if elected to Congress ? 

1. The Pendleton Bill. —I have no hesitation in saying that, if 
elected to Congress, I would “ support with my vote” the Pendleton 
Bill—or, indeed, any other bill of the same general character. 

2. The House Bill Prohibiting Political Assessments. —Al¬ 
though I have been unable to procure a copy of this bill since your 
letter was received, and do not remember its specific provisions, I am 
yet able to say, and do say, that I regard “ political assessments ” as an 
outrage on the Civil Service of the United States, and that, if elected to 
Congress, my vote would correspond with this conviction ; ■ that I should 
vote to suppress this outrage ! 

Respectfully yours, 

H. S. GREENLEAF. 


Buffalo, 

The Hon. Sherman S. Rogers , J. N. Lamed , and William F. Kip, Com¬ 
mittee : 

Gentlemen:— 

I have received your favor of the 14th of October, and beg 
that you will accept my apology for the delay of this response. Such 
delay has not been occasioned, I can assure you, by any uncertainty in 
my views on the important subjects you suggest, but by the pressure of 
my engagements. 

You ask if I am prepared to sustain in Congress the proposed 
legislation for carrying into effect the pledge of the several parties on the 
subject of Civil-Service Reform. I answer unhesitatingly and without 
qualification that I am so prepared, and am willing and anxious, by my 
action and vote, to contribute so far as lies in my power to the success 
of all measures tending to the purification of the Civil-Service. 

I have never been able to discover why the Government should 
not receive the same measure of service for a fair equivalent as would be 
furnished by the servants of a private individual or a corporation; and 
it is most certainly the interest of every employer to retain in his service 


3 « 


and to strengthen and bind to himself, by all the ties possible, every ser¬ 
vant or employee who shows himself capable and faithful. 

The first point to be established in securing reform in the Civil 
Service, in my judgment, is to insure the appointment of the fittest can¬ 
didate for each Governmental post. The method of selection by compe¬ 
titive examination certainly commends itself to every man as tending to 
secure that object, and as likely to bring to the service of the Govern¬ 
ment the best talent and experience. It therefore merits and commands 
my hearty endorsement. 

So far as regards that portion of your letter which sets the 
stamp of disapproval upon the practice of assessing the salaried officers 
of the National Government for political purposes, my sentiments are 
again fully in accord with yours. Such assessments (miscalled volun¬ 
tary contributions) are wholly at variance with the spirit of our political 
institutions; and the practice of attempting to create a partisan fund for 
election purposes by collecting such percentage from office-holders, calls 
for and receives my severest condemnation. I do not wholly approve 
the underlying principle which supports the proposed acts of Congress, 
copies of which you have sent me, but am ready to do all in my power 
to support those measures in Congress, if I should be elected to the 
office of Representative from this district. 

Yours truly, 

JOHN F. MOULTON. 

Dunkirk, Chautauqua Co., N. Y., Oct. 30th, 1882. 
William Potts, Secretary, No. 4 Pi?ie St., New York City: 

Dear Sir:— 

In reply to the circular letter which your committee have sent 
me, I beg leave to say that I heartily approve of both of the measures 
referred to in your letter, and, if elected to Congress (of which there is 
no possibility), I should feel bound to give both my unreserved support. 
1 am glad also to be able to say that I favor all of those results that you 
state you expect to accomplish by the passage of the measures referred 
to above. Yours truly, 

WALTER A. SELLEW. 

No. 30 Broad St, Rooms 77 and 78, New York, Oct. 23, 1882. 
George William Curtis, Esq., Chairman of Committee. 

Dear Sir :— 

Your letter of the 20th instant, asking my views regarding 
Civil Service Reform, has been received. In reply I beg leave to say 


39 


that I am in sympathy with the objects sought to be accomplished by the 
Civil-Service Reform Association, and, it elected to Congress, I shall sup¬ 
port any proper measure tending to reform the method of selecting 
Federal officers in the Civil Service, and shall favor any measure calcu¬ 
lated to prevent the practice of assessing the agents of the government 
for the benefit of a political party. Respectfully, 

Your obedient servant, 

H. W. SLOCUM. 


No. 9 West 38TH St., New York, Oct., 23, 1882. 

Messrs. George William Curtis , John Jay , Everett P. Wheeler , and 
William Potts. 

Gentlemen :— 

Your favor of Oct. 20, written on behalf of the Civil-Service 
Reform Association of New York, and asking me to answer certain 
questions relative to the demand for reform in the Civil Service of the 
government, has been duly received. In reply I beg to enclose you my 
letter published in the daily newspapers, and accepting the nomination 
for Congressman-at-Large. I may only add to what I say in it that, 
elected or defeated, I shall continue to do all in my power to promote the 
object of your association. I have the honor to be, etc., etc., etc., 

With great respect yours, 

HOWARD CARROLL. 


40 


The following are the letters to the Candidates for Assembly 
from the districts in New York City, and the replies received. 

PRESIDENT. 

GEORGE WILLIAM CURTIS. 

VICE-PRESIDENTS. 

BENJ. H. BRISTOW, ROSWELL D. HITCHCOCK, GEO. B. MCCLELLAN, 

ROBERT B. MINTURN, HOWARD POTTER. OSWALD OTTENDORFER, 

JOHN JAY, GEORGE B. BUTLER. 

OFFICE OF THE 

CIVIL-SERVICE REFORM ASSOCIATION. 

NO. 4 PINE STREET, NEW YORK, 1882. 

Sir: 

Both of the great parties having declared in their platforms 
for a thorough Reform in the Civil Service — and Presidents Grant, 
Hayes, Garfield, and Arthur having successively urged it upon the atten¬ 
tion of Congress, the citizens on whose behalf we have the honor to 
address you concur in the demand arising through the country, that 
without further delay those party pledges should be redeemed and the 
reform accomplished. 

The voice of the State Legislature on a question of such 
national importance will justly carry weight with Congress, and we beg 
leave respectfully to ask: 

1. Whether, if elected to the Assembly for which you have 
been nominated, you will be prepared to vote for a resolution expressing 
the hope that Congress will enact the bill reported in the Senate, a copy 
of which is herewith sent to you — or some similar bill for establishing 
the merit system of appointment, with competitive examinations, proba¬ 
tion, and promotion for merit, which are now in operation in the Cus¬ 
tom-House and Post-Office of New York; and that Congress will 
forbid, in all cases, the levying of political assessments upon persons 
employed in the Government service ? 

2. Are you in favor of establishing by law a similar reform in 
the Civil Service of the State, touching appointments and prohibiting 
party assessments, and may we rely upon your efforts in this behalf if 


4i 


you shall be elected to represent the district ? Should you disapprove 
of any of the principles or methods of the Senate Bill, will you be good 
enough to state your own views of the Reform to which your party 
stands pledged, and of the methods by which, in your opinion, it 
should be carried out in such manner as to raise the standard of the 
Service, to secure for the people the utmost excellence and efficiency 
in their public servants, and to make place in the Service, whether of the 
Nation or the State, the reward not of partisan service, but of character, 
ability, and fitness for the work ? 

3. Your attention is respectfully called also to the maltreat¬ 
ment, cruelty, and wrong to which children, paupers, the sick, the dis¬ 
abled, the insane, and criminals are subjected through the ignorance, 
inefficiency, or worse defects of officials and employees, who have been 
appointed not from their fitness for the work, but without regard to their 
fitness, by political favor—and to serve the purposes of party. Vicious 
management resulting from such appointments is reported in schools, 
asylums, and institutions of charity and correction existing under State 
authority, and sustained or assisted from the public treasury. The tes¬ 
timony on this subject in the State of New York of the State Board of 
Charities, the State Charities Aid Association, and of distinguished ex¬ 
perts, is alluded to in the Report of the National Civil-Service Reform 
League herewith transmitted to you (pages 22-25), and the significance 
of the abuses in question bearing heavily upon helpless classes, and ex¬ 
posing children in our schools to preventable diseases with lasting evil to 
themselves and the community, is enhanced by the announcement that 
the cost of the public charities in the City of New York has increased 
during the last thirty years 588 per cent, while the increase of population 
was only 134 per cent. 

The fact that in one county (Kings Co., N. Y.) radical reforms 
and a large reduction of the death-rate were accomplished with a saving 
of nearly one-half in the annual expenses, adds force to the demand for 
a searching investigation on the part of the Legislature into the conduct 
of these institutions, and the effect upon their management of political 
influence in determining appointments and removals. We respectfully 
ask, therefore, whether you will, if elected, vote for such an investigation 
by a competent committee, with a view to such legislation as may be 


4 2 


found expedient to secure for all beenvolent institutions authorized by 
the State, managers and employees of the first integrity and capacity 
without regard to their political opinions. 

4. Are you in favor of prompt and stringent legislation to 
prevent fraud and intimidation at the primary elections, and to secure 
their purity and honesty ? 

We beg leave to add that we will carefully consider any sug¬ 
gestion with which you may favor us for the improvement of the Civil 
Service in its various branches, and, awaiting your response, 

We have the honor to be, Sir, 


Very respectfully yours, 


GEORGE WILLIAM CURTIS, 
JOHN JAY, 

EVERETT P. WHEELER, 
WILLIAM POTTS. 


Committee. 


James Oliver, Esq., candidate for the Assembly from the 
Second Assembly District of New York, returns the circular letter ad¬ 
dressed to him by the Committee, endorsed as follows: 

To the queries marked 1, 2 and 4, he answers, “Yes.” 

Upon the paragraph preliminary to query No. 3, he makes the 
following comment: “ I have already given the subject much study, 

and am in favor of all existing laws relating to the proper treatment of 
the unfortunate, and the enactment of more laws on the same subject, 
and their stringent enforcement when enacted,” and to the query itself 
he replies, “Yes,” and he signs himself, Respectfully, 

JAMES OLIVER, 

Candidate for Member of Assembly, Second Assembly District. 
Nov. 2. 1882. 


Pres't Civil-Service Reform Ass'n: 


N. Y., Nov. 2d, 1882. 


Dear Sir: 

Your document of the 1st inst. to hand. The candidates of 


43 


the Central Labor Union have been pledged to reform, not only those, 
but all measures under which the people suffer. 

Find enclosed copy of Pledge and Platform. 

Yours truly, 

ROGER BURKE. 

P. S.—Will certainly be particularly careful to vote for C. S. 
Reform Bill. Inclosed find ballots. R. B. 

New York, Oct. 29, 1882. 

To the Committee of the Civil-Service Reform Association. 

Sirs :— 

In answer to your circular letter of 27th inst., I beg leave 
to state that, being in favor of Civil-Service Reform as set forth in the 
nine fundamental provisions of your Bill, I shall, if elected, do all I can 
to give it practical effect. I am also in favor of establishing a similar 
reform of the Civil Service in the State, and intend to vote for the inves¬ 
tigation referred to in the 3rd question of your letter, and shall heartily 
cooperate in any legislation having for its end the purity and honesty 
of primary elections. 

. . Yours truly, 

ABRAHAM L. BREWER. 

318 Broadway, New York, Oct. 27, 1882. 

Messrs. George William Curtis , John Jay , Everett P. Wheeler, and 

William Potts. 

Gentlemen :— 

Your communication of the 24th inst., asking an expression of 
my views relative to certain questions contained therein, is before me. 
In answer, permit me to say that, if re-elected, I will vote for any proper 
practical resolution which may be offered for the establishment of a sys¬ 
tem of appointment which shall have for its basis merit, and the requisite 
qualifications to fill the office sought, for, in my judgment, those are the 
essentials necessary to possess—at least, the leading qualities. Further: 
I shall at all times advocate any and all practical measures which may 
be adopted for the inaugurating and carrying out of a thorough reform 
in our Civil Service—believing that principle, right, justice, and truth 
should be the motive powers in the internal workings of the affairs of the 


44 


government. I am strongly in favor of legislation to prevent fraud and 
intimidation at the primary elections, and to secure their purity and 
honesty. Believing this covers the main questions set forth in your 
letter, I am, 

Yours very respectfully, 

L. L. VAN ALLEN. 

21 West 2oth, Street, Nov. 3rd, 1882. 
George William Curtis, Esq. and others. 

Gentlemen : — 

In reply to your inquiry of the 31st ult., I beg to say that I 
am in hearty sympathy with the movements of your society — of which 
I have had the honor for some time of being a member. 

Nothing could better promote the efficiency of the service 
than the establishment, on secure foundations, of the merit system; to¬ 
wards that end I know of nothing more likely to lead to good results 
than the bill referred to in your document, and I should be glad, if 
elected, to further its interests, so far as lay in my power. 

This is equally true of all the service,*National, State, and 
Municipal. 

By defeating the assessment business, the elections and the 
nominating conventions or bodies would be freed from a vast source of 
fraud and evil. I should favor such a movement, as well as suitable, 
prompt, and stringent legislation, to secure and guard the purity of the 
primary. I am gentlemen, Yours faithfully, 

HENRY MARQUAND. 


Empire Club, 41 Grove Sreet, 

New York, Oct. 26, 1881. 

Gentlemen :— 

Yours of the 24th inst. received and noted as carefully as time, 
under circumstances, will allow. 

Owing to the fact that my time is necessarily employed in pro¬ 
secuting my canvass in my district, which, although Democratic, I hope 
to win, it is impossible for me to answer as fully as I would like. 

I am, however, thoroughly impressed with the truth and im¬ 
portance of the purposes of your association, and, whether successful in 


45 


my election or not, I shall at all times give my earnest support to any 
and all measures tending to secure such needed reform. 

I am, sirs, very respectfully yours, 

FREDERICK B. HOUSE. 

34 First Avenue, New York, Nov. 4th, 1882. 

Gentlemen :— 

I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your favor of 
the 31st ult. 

Permit me to answer that I subscribe fully to the sentiments 
and suggestions therein contained, and will, if elected, do what lies in 
my power in their furtherance, and towards securing the passage of such 
measures as will effect their practical operation. 

I am, Gentlemen, sincerely yours, 

GEORGE FRANCIS ROESCH, 

10th Assembly District, N. Y. Co. 
Hon. George William Curtis , and others , Committee Civil-Service Reform 

Association. 


New York, Oct. 25th, 1882. 

Hon. George Wm. Curtis and others , Committee Civil-Service Reform 
Association: 

Gentlemen:— 

Referring to your inquiries as to the position I would assume, 
if elected to the Assembly, upon the question of Civil-Service Reform, I 
beg to say that having always been an advocate of the cause, I have no 
hesitation in answering affirmatively all the questions stated in your cir¬ 
cular. Very respectfully yours, etc. 

WALTER HOWE. 


New York, Nov. 2d, 1882. 


Gentlemen:— 

I beg to acknowledge receipt of your communication of 31st 


ultimo. 


4 6 


Referring to the questions therein asked, I beg to say that I 
take pleasure in answering all of them in the affirmative. 

Civil-Service Reform is wanted here quite as much as in Wash¬ 
ington, and, as to political assessments, the matter is quite as bad in our 
city government as in the Federal offices. Assuring you that I am at 
all times ready to help in this cause, the success of which I believe to be 
most closely connected with the preservation of free institutions, 

I am, Gentlemen, 

Yours very truly, 

J. HAMPDEN ROBB. 

To Messrs. GEORGE WILLIAM CURTIS, 

EVERETT P. • WHEELER, 

JOHN JAY, 

WILLIAM POTTS. . 



New York, Oct. 25th, 1882. 

Messrs. George William Curtis , John Jay, Everett P. Wheeler and 

William Potts. 

Gentlemen :— 

Your communication of the 24th inst., containing a printed 
circular from your organization, upon which you request a statement of 
my views, was received this morning. 

1. In reply I would state that I am in favor of any regulation, 
by legislative enactment or otherwise, which will tend to secure a more 
efficient Civil Service both in our Federal and State governments. To 
this end I shall support in‘the next legislature, if a member, any reso¬ 
lution requesting Congress to enact a bill similar to the copy of one 
you have enclosed me. 

2. I disapprove of the system of levying political assessments, 
both in the State and National governments, not only because of my 
belief thas it has an evil tendency in politics, but also because in a large 
number of cases it works a hardship upon the office-holder, who is com¬ 
pelled to contribute to the party fund as a price of his retention in 
office. 

3. While not aware that the abuses which you mention as exist¬ 
ing in our State asylums for insane and in our public hospitals are the 
result of the present system of appointment, I would, nevertheless, sus¬ 
tain any measure or resolution which would serve to prevent cruel and 
wrongful treatment of the criminals in our prisons, or those who are the 
inmates of our public hospitals and asylums. 


47 


4 * I ar n in favor of legislation providing for the purity of our 
primaries, and for the punishment of fraud and intimidation at all prim¬ 
ary elections. 

I believe I have answered the various questions set forth in the 
circular you sent me, and have nothing further to add, except that I am, 
and hope always to be, in favor of any public measure or action 
which may in any way elevate political morality and remove the im¬ 
purities which, of late years, have become attached to our political 
system. 

I remain yours respectfully, 

HENRY L. SPRAGUE. 

(The result as to the Assemblyman in this District is still in doubt.) 


New York, Nov. 6 , 1882. 

Civil-Service Reform Association, No. 4 Pine St., N. Y. 
Gentlemen : — 


My views in reference to the Civil-Service Reform Bill, exactly 
coincide with your own. 

And, should I be elected, my whole influence should be brought 
to bear upon this matter. Very truly yours, 


THALES S. BLISS 


(The result as to the Assemblyman in this District is still in doubt.) 


419 1 oth Ave., New York. 

To the Officers and Membe 7 's of the Civil-Sendee Reform. 

Sirs : — 

I received your communication dated November 4th, and can 
only say in response, that the views expressed by the Committee meet 
with my hearty approval, and, if elected, will be happy to correspond 
with you as a Member of the Legislature. I remain 

Respectfully yours, 

JACOB COOPER. 

Present Member from 15th Dist. 


Gentlemen :— 


New York, October 27th, 1882. 


Of the Civil-Sendee Reform Association, No. 4 Pine Street, N. V. 

In response to your circular, I would respectfully say that, if 


4 8 


elected, I shall be prepared to vote for any resolutions which will assure 
the success of the objects for which you are working—the improvement 
of the Civil Service—and suggested in the circular received. 

All efforts having in view the improvements of the institutions 
of our Government have my earnest sympathy, and any measure which 
will raise the standard of the public service, whether in National, State, 
or local affairs, and improve their character for morality, ability, and 
efficiency, will receive my support. 

The care, custody, and education of the young, and especially 
of such whom the misfortunes of their lot have thrown upon the tender 
mercies of the world, should be most jealously guarded, and should be 
maintained without regard to political preferences. 

Anything tending to the eradication of evils from the institu¬ 
tions having the charge of such, and the improvement in education and 
morality of those for whom they ought to be maintained, shall receive my 
earnest and hearty support. 

I hope the time is not far distant when all doubts of the purity 
and honesty of our elections, both primary and general, will be removed; 
believing that the success of the principles upon which our Government 
was established can only be secured by maintaining our elective franchise 
pure and honest, it will always be my aim, whether a private citizen or as 
a legislator, if elected to office, to do all in my power in making and keep¬ 
ing our elections pure, and my support will be given to all - such efforts 
that shall prevent fraud or intimidation in any of the details of our 
elections. 

Assuring you of my sympathy and support in procuring a good 
and honest administration of Government. 

I am yours very respectfully, 

RICHARD J. LEWIS. 


154 East 38TH St., N. Y.. Nov. 9th, 1882. 
Hon. George William Curtis , Preset C. S. P. Ass'n. 

Dear Sir: 

Your communication rec’d. I am in favor of such legislation 
as will prove beneficial to the people, irrespective of political parties. 

Knowing that you have the welfare of the people at heart, and 
being anxious to serve in the same interest, I beg you to advise and 
command me, at all times and upon all subjects thereto pertaining. 

Very respectfully, 

DANIEL S. McELROY. 

Assemblyman-Elect 18th Dist. 


49 


New York, Oct. 28th, 1882. 

G. W. Curtis , Esq., President Civil-Service Reform Association. 

Dear Sir:— 

In answer to yours of 27th, I will say that, though nominated 
for the Assembly, I have not decided as yet whether to accept or not, 
as the nomination was a complete surprise to me, and would have been 
declined at once but for the urgent solicitation of a number of the busi¬ 
ness people of the district, irrespective of party, urging me to accept. 

And as the prospect is now that I will accept the nomination, 
I will answer your enquiry at once, and all I need say is that I am in 
perfect harmony with all the work done and contemplated in the future 
by your association. 

And further, if placed in a position where my vote would have 
any weight, to cast that vote for what I believe the country most needs 
to-day, an honest Civil-Service Reform that will put our Civil Service on 
a business basis, and make the forcible assessment of those in the service 
a crime. Respectfully yours, 

H. A. VAN NESS. 

55 West 45th St., New York, Oct. 25th, 1882. 
Messrs. G. W. Curtis , John Jay , E. P Wheeler , and Wm. Potts: 

Sirs:— 

Having just received your favor of the 24th, I will respond to 
each section in turn. 

1. I will certainly vote for and support the resolution indi¬ 
cated ; the bill, or some similar one, should certainly become a law. I 
do not at all agree, however, with the section on page second, which 
runs, “ that the appointments shall be apportioned as nearly as practic¬ 
able among the several states and territories ### *upon the basis of popu¬ 
lation,” and I consider said section to be entirely out of harmony with 
the purpose and spirit of the bill, as appointments should no more be 
made for sectional than for partisan reasons. 

I shall vote and work for any resolution or bill aimed at the 
levying of political assessments. 

2. I am thoroughly in favor of the same reforms being carried 
through in regard to state appointments, and will in every way support a 
measure for that purpose. 


5 ° 


3. I will vote for and support in every way the investigation 
suggested. 

4. I am most emphatically in favor of such legislation ; and, as 
a step towards accomplishing the end in view, I would suggest that the 
law passed last year to purify the Brooklyn primaries be amended so as 
to apply to New York. I tried to have this amendment adopted in the 
last Legislature, but was defeated, chiefly by my fellow-members from 
New York. In conclusion, I may say that I regard Civil-Service Re¬ 
form, even more than Tariff Reform, as the great political question of 
the day, and, if in any way I can further it, I will most cheerfully do so. 

Yours truly, 

h THEODORE ROOSEVELT. 


I 287 Broadway, New York, Oct. 25th, 1882. 

Gentlemen:— 

Your circular letter of the 24th inst., requesting my answer to 
the questions therein propounded, has been duly received. In answer 
to the same, I am most happy to be able to answer all of your questions 
in the affirmative. I have labored and argued in my own humble way 
for the reform measures advocated by you. I have in my canvass de¬ 
termined to make no promise of any kind which I cannot keep, and I 
will keep every promise that I make. I pledge you, if elected, I will do 
^ all in my power to subserve the cause of reform, and take the liberty of 

referring you to Prof. Theodore W. Dwight as my sponsor. 

I remain respectfully yours, 

ISAAC FROMME. 

To Civil-Service Reform Association.—George William Curtis , John 
Jay , Everett P Wheeler, and William Potts , Committee. 


New York, Nove'mber 3d, 1882. 
Ho?i. George William Curtis and others , Committee : 

, Gentlemen:— 

Your recent communication in relation to Civil-Service Reform 
was duly received. In response I beg leave to say that my views upon 
this important subject are in harmony with those expressed in your letter. 


5i 

Observation and reflection have long since led me to the belief that by 
the adoption of some such means only could a reform in the Civil Ser¬ 
vice be effected. 

I shall be glad to aid in the advancement of the good cause. 

Yours truly, 

% , JACOB F. MILLER. 


New York, Oct. 25, 1882. 

Ho?i. George William Curtis and others , Committee Civil-Service Reform 
Association, 4 Pine St., City. \ 

Gentlemen:— 

Your communication and enclosure are duly at hand. While I 
have not the time at present to study carefully the details of the plans 
you submit, and therefore must respect rny opinion too much to give my 
unqualified assent, still I am most happy to state that I have been in 
full sympathy with your association since its.organization, and I unhesi¬ 
tatingly commit myself to the support of every measure that shall tend 
to purify our Civil Service, place good men in office, keep them and pro¬ 
mote them on the ground of merit, and prevent all coercion in the mat¬ 
ter of political contribution. 

I am, with great respect, very truly yours, 

E. A. TUTTLE. 


New York, Nov. 3d, 1882. 

E. P. Wheeler, Esq. 

Dear Sir :— 

I wish to reply to the circular sent to me by the Civil-Service 
Board, but, not having it before me, cannot express myself as I would 
wish, but will say that I am in hearty accord with the principles of 
Civil Service, and shall do my best to carry out its successful accom¬ 
plishment at all times. 1 

Very respectfully, 


LEROY B. CRANE. 


S 2 


The following are the letters to the Candidates for City Offices, 
and the replies received. 

New York, Oct. 25, 1882. 

Dear Sir : 

You are doubtless aware of the indignant feeling which now 
pervades the public mind by reason of the prostitution of official authority 
and influence for private and partisan purposes, and that a large propor¬ 
tion of the voters are resolved upon a reform of these abuses which are 
well known to prevail to a serious and alarming extent in the municipal 
administration of this city. 

In view of this fact, the Civil-Service Reform Association of 
the City of New York has requested the undersigned, as its committee, 
to very respectfully submit to you the following questions, to which we 
trust it may be your pleasure to give an early and public answer: 

1. In your judgment, should either political opinions or party 
affiliations be made a test for appointments to municipal offices, or, on the 
other hand, should superior capacity for performing the duties of the 
office or doing the public work, without exclusion for party reasons, be 
made the criterion for appointments and employments under the city 
government ? Do you or not approve of testing capacity for city clerk¬ 
ships by competitive examinadons upon the method successfully prac¬ 
ticed in the New York Post-Office and Custom-House? 

2. In your judgment, should removals be made either for party 
reasons, or in order to give patronage to factions or party managers ? 
Should an efficient and honest city official be-removed while the service 
he is rendering is needed by the city ? 

3. Should there be any condition for promotion except merit 

alone ? 

4. Do you approve of the practice of compelling city officials 
'to do party work or of inviting them to interfere with elections ? 

5. Do you approve the practice of promising or giving offices 
and employments under the city for votes and influence at elections, or 
of apportioning city patronage between political parties or the city 
factions of those parties ? 


53 


6. Do you justify either political assessments upon public 
officers, or the conferring of nominations• in consideration of the pay¬ 
ment of money in return for them ? 


7. If elected in the present canvass, to what extent will you use 
your authority and influence to remove the abuses referred to, or to give 
practical effect to your views on the foregoing subjects ? 


8. As these inquiries are made wholly upon public grounds, 
we must regard them and your answers, if it be your pleasure to make 
any, as public, and we have the honor of being, 

Very respectfully, your obedient servants, 


Dorman B. Eaton, 
Everett P. Wheeler. 


j> Committee . 


New York, Nov. 6, 1882. 

To Dorman B. Eaton and Everett P. Wheeler, Committee Civil-Service 

Association. 

Gentlemen : — 

I have received your printed circular of the 25th ult. propound" 
ing several questions in regard to certain methods for securing greater 
efficiency in the city Government. I will reply to them in the order 
stated by you. 

1st. Municipal affairs should, in my opinion, be conducted 
without regard to party politics, and on business principles. I am not 
very familiar with the method of competitive examinations for clerkships 
practiced in the Custom-House and Post-Office in this city. Private 
institutions, like banks, insurance companies, railroad companies, and 
large mercantile firms, appoint clerks, of course, upon their merits and 
character, and, as they have a deep interest in the success of their busi¬ 
ness, they doubtless secure the greatest possible efficiency in their em¬ 
ployees. 

It may be said, and probably with truth, that the Heads of 
Departments, even of high character, would not have the same personal 
and pecuniary interest in the success of their several bureaus which con¬ 
trol private corporations and other large estabishments, and that conse¬ 
quently some rule such as you suggest ought to be fixed with reference 
to municipal clerkships. Yet it seems to me that a city officer would be 
faithless to his Trust, if, in the appointment of clerks, he did not make 
selections on the ground of merit, efficiency, and character. The 




54 

Government being made non-partisan, he could have no excuse for 
doing otherwise. 

I am, however, entirely unprejudiced in this matter, and, if the 
mode you suggest would secure the greatest efficiency, I should certainly 
favor it. 

2nd. To this question I answer certainly not. 

3rd. Seniority with merit should regulate promotions. 

4th. No. 

5th. Such practice would be immoral, if not illegal. 

6th. Such methods are immoral and corrupting in their ten¬ 
dency. When the Department of Public Works was under my charge, 
I gave orders that no assessment upon employees would be allowed, and 
have issued a similar order in the Finance Department. 

7th. If elected Mayor, for which office I have been nominated 
by the citizens of New York, I would do all in my power to stop abuses 
and to secure good Government for the city. 

Yours respectfully, 

ALLAN CAMPBELL. 


Gentlemen : — 


New York, October 30th, 1882. 


I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your communi¬ 
cation, and to submit my answers to the various interrogations pro¬ 
pounded to me by the Civil-Service Reform Association. 

1. In my judgment, capacity for the performance of the duties 
of the public service should be the supreme test for appointment to 
municipal office; and I regard my own nomination as an adoption by 
the democratic party of the doctrine, that, where a public official’s tenure 
of office is limited by law to a single term, a subordinate familiar with 
the duties of the department, and whose capacity has been attested by 
experience, should always be promoted to the succession. While I 
firmly believe that some test of fitness should be applied to all applicants 
for employment in the public service, I am not sufficiently familiar with 
the system of competitive examination now practiced in the New York 
Post-Office and Custom-House to form any opinion as to its efficacy or 
sufficiency. 

2. In my judgment, all appointments to and removals from 
office should be controlled solely by a regard for the interests of muni- 



55 


cipality. I regard the adoption and enforcement of this doctrine as the 
highest form of party discipline; for party factions and party managers 
aie serving their own interests best, when they are most attentive to the 
necessities of the public. 

3. Merit should be the controlling condition for promotion. 

4. While I do not approve the compelling of city officials to do 
party work, or to interfere with elections, neither do I desire to see any 
man disfranchised, or rendered politically inactive, solely because he may 
have been trusted by the people, or rewarded by them with public office. 
But while I would be glad to see every citizen take an active interest in 
the municipal government, I would deplore the spectacle of a high pub¬ 
lic official casting the weight and influence of his office into the political 
contests of the city parties, or prostituting his patronage to the selfish 
ends of his ambition or his resentments. 

5. I regard either the promising of patronage for votes at elec¬ 
tions, or the bargaining away of public office to city factions as a return 
for their support, with the gravest reprehension. I support Mr. Edson 
for Mayor at this election*because I know him to be absolutely unpledged 
either to leader or faction, and I regard his nomination as a concession 
by the politicians to a popular demand for good government, which it 
would have been dangerous to trifle with and fatal to disregard. 

6. I look upon compulsory assessment of public officers as a 
form of blackmail, which is all the more pernicious as it appears to be 
beyond the reach of the law, and I abhor the purchase of nominations 
by money as a crime against the great privilege of choosing public ser¬ 
vants by popular suffrage, which ought to be treated and punished as a 
high degree of treason. 

7. If elected to the office of Sheriff at the approaching election, 
I will endeavor to so administer the affairs of my office, that every subor- 
inate under my direction will be at perfect liberty to follow the dictates 
of his conscience in exercising all the rights of citizenship, while held 
to a strict accountability for the discharge of his duties to the public. 

8. As I have already in my letter accepting the nomination 
conferred on me by the democratic party, given expression to precisely 
the same views as those contained in the answers now submitted to you, 


5 6 


I can have no objection to your making any use of this communication 
that you may deem proper. And I have the honor to be gentlemen, 
Your obedient humble servant, 

ALEXANDER V. DAVIDSON, 

Messrs. DORMAN B. EATON. ( 

EVERETT P. WHEELER, f 

New York, Oct. 31, 1882. 

Dorman B. Eaton, Esq., Everett P Wheeler, Esq., Committee, etc.: 

Sirs:— 

In response to your circular of the 25th inst. I have only time 
at present to state that I approve of the principles and objects of the 
Civil-Service Reform Association, and, if elected to the office of Sheriff 
of the City and County of New York, 1 shall endeavor to remove any 
and all abuses which may have existed in respect to the distribution or 
disposal of official positions, and in respect to the qualifications of subor¬ 
dinate officers. Very truly yours, 

EMMONS CLARK. 


N. Y. City, 16 and 18 Exchange Place, Nov. 1st, 1882. 
Gentlemen:— 


Your circular of date, October 25th, 1882, was duly received. 

I am in favor of Civil-Service Reform, and all that that 
implies. I believe that when a person is appointed to either a National, 
State, or Municipal office, he should hold such office during good 
behavior, and that no political or other influence should be allowed to 
control him; that political assessments upon public officers, and the con¬ 
ferring of nominations in consideration of the payment of money, should 
be declared illegal. 

If elected, I will do everything in my power to carry out the 
foregoing views. 


Respectfully yours, 


GEO. L. INGRAHAM. 


DORMAN B. EATON, Esq., 
EVERETT P. WHEELER, Esq. 


| Committee , etc. 



57 


Oct. 30th, 1882. 


Gentlemen : 

“Those are my sentiments.” I am an old “ IX warder.” 
Respectfully, 

JOHN H. DEMAREST, M. D., 1969 Madison Ave. 
Dorman B. Eaton and Everett P Wheeler, Esq. 


242 E. 60th St. 

Messrs. D. B. Eaton and E. P. Wheeler, Committee Civil-Service Reform 

Association. 

Gentlemen :— 

In answer to your circular with printed questions, I beg to say, 

1. Political opinion or party affiliation should of course never be 
made a test for appointments, certainly not in municipal offices. I do 
approve of testing the capacity for city clerkships—as the capacity for 
all offices and functions—but whether the method practiced here is the 
best, I do not know, and am therefore not prepared to say. 

2. Of course ?iot. 

3. Of course not. 

4. Most decidedly no. 

5. I consider such a practice infamous, and would rather not 
be elected at all than by such means! 

6. Most decidedly not. 

7. If elected coroner, I will try to do my duty in every possible 
way. And if there is any power or chance to give the most effective 
practical test of my views on these principles, I will be only too glad to 
carry them out. 

You may make any use of these lines you please. 

Respectfully yours, 

E. W. HOEBER, M. D. 


Oct. 30th. 





